Pumba has really settled in and his little personality is coming out. He is so playful! He is loving his new life with snuggles, exploring the yard and walks in the woods. Although someone is always home, we left him for a very short time as a trial and he was calm and just fine. He hasn't had any accidents since the first couple of days and is learning how to communicate more and more. He has had a freshen up with bath, a lot of ear cleaning and nails done at the vet. All his vet work came back perfect. He has a lot of toys but mostly likes his little dental bones.

Adopted

Mr. Pumba, also known as Pooh Bear, is now ready to find his forever home. He is a 7-year-old fawn pug who is one of the most charming boys you will ever meet.

Pumba seems to have environmental allergies. He takes a daily medication to keep his allergies under control (Apoquel).

Now that Pumba is feeling better he is an entirely different dog than he has been most of the time he has been with us. When he wasn't feeling well he was very quiet and reserved and was just looking for a lap to lie down in. Now that he feels better, he spends a lot of his time running around the house and trying to play with anything with a pulse.

Pumba enjoys the 10 and 13 year old girls who live in the house. We babysit a toddler regularly, he is very smitten with her as well.

He loves all other dogs he has come into contact with. He currently spends all of his sleeping time with another pug in the house and continually tries to engage our large lab/shepherd mix to play with him.

Pumba has been cat tested and wasn't interested in them. He does however like to cuddle on the couch with our resident guinea pigs.

He does like to bark (a lot) at the television. In addition, he would require a fully fenced yard.

He has not been alone in the last three months but previous to that he was alone up to 6 hours per day.

Pumba is a doll. He gets along with everyone and everything.

Foster Update, June 21, 2018

Pumba continues to be a little doll of a man. He loves nothing more than to cuddle up with his people (preferably children) or his current favourite dog (Kitty) and have a nap. He just loves to be loved.

He is not food motivated in any way but does continue to eat his kangaroo diet (even though he is clearly not a big fan). He has, however, been known to steal lettuce from the resident guinea pigs, whom he finds quite interesting. We aren't sure if he thinks they are friends or possibly ground squirrels.

Pumba is struggling with his allergies once again. He is now completely up to date on his vaccinations and has recently had an allergy shot. He was fine for about a week and has now been slowly getting worse again. He had a bath last night so I am hopeful that this will at least give him some relief. It is not food with which he appears to be having an issue, but rather something in the environment that is bothering him. We are keeping his time outside to a minimum (no arguments from him on that) and monitoring him very closely. We would like to resolve his allergy issues before he is ready for adoption.

Foster Update, April 25, 2018

Pumba continues to be a doll of a boy. He gets along with everyone and everything. He loves to try and engage with our newly inherited family member, a very large and black dog, but Pumba manages to scare him every time! When he isn't scaring his poor foster sibling, Pumba spends most of his time either on the couches or the beds in the house (and likes to play the "who can be closer" game with Pugalug alum, Kitty -- they both like to lie on top of people). We are trying to limit his TV time as more and more things annoy him on the TV now, it's comical, but it can be a bit much at times.

Pumba has been on antibiotics for the last 3 weeks to clear up his skin and it is almost 100% healed now. He seems to still be doing well on the Rayne Kangaroo diet and with his Cytopoint shot. He should be ready for his Rabies vaccine this week.

Also, Pumba now likes to play at night (when everyone is trying to get to sleep). It is the cutest thing ever, but he plays like a puppy so we are curbing his urge to nip during play. We are taking it as a sign that he finally feels better.

Assuming that Pumba continues to do well with his food and Cytopoint, he should be available for adoption within the next few weeks.

Foster Update, March 7, 2018

Pumba continues to be a little love of a boy. When the weather was a bit warmer, he had a bit of a flare up with his allergies. As you can see in the picture below, he struggled with an itchy ear among other things. Thankfully, we managed to get that healed up in no time. Now that it is a bit colder again, he is back to being controlled (his allergies only haha!). However, with spring around the corner, we will be trying a new allergy treatment called Cytopoint, which are injections given every few weeks. Assuming he has no issues, Pumba will be ready to adopt shortly thereafter.

With a possible adoption coming soon, Pumba asked me to send a list of his likes (or loves) and dislikes:

Likes:

- Tall, multi-coloured Heinz 57 dogs as he was infatuated with with his furry foster cousin who came to stay last week
- Visiting any and all dogs
- The "ground squirrels" that we have in the house (aka Rosie and Olivia - the guinea pigs)
- People laps
- Pillow piles on my bed
- People, especially kids

Dislikes:

- Television shows that contain: animals, Emoji's, Skittles commericals, medical dramas, anything animated, and anything else that catches his attention
- Mean dogs
- Loud men
- Dogs who won?t share a people lap with him
- Waking up early
- Peeing outside when it rains

Of course, a more formal posting of Adoption Requirements will be available in the next few weeks, but Pumba wanted to be sure that the important things were told in advance. He has priorities! Haha!

Foster Update, January 18, 2018

Pumba continues to be an absolute delight, who loves nothing more than a warm lap and a good sleep. He gets along well with any and all new dogs that he meets and hasn't shown any interest in cats to this point. Rodents, on the other hand, have him bewildered. He recently discovered that we have guinea pigs in the house (caged of course) and wasn't entirely sure what to make of them. However, we think that he's put them in the "snack" category (for the moment at least) so we're keeping an eye on that to see if Pumba's opinion changes.

Pumba's skin is doing so much better. The combination of the new diet and the venectyl seem to be working for him very well. The "elephant skin" on his belly has receeded about 50% and I expect that to be gone completely in another month. At his re-check, the vet was very happy with his progress and we are now waiting to see if a referral to a dermatologist is still needed. At this point though, he is looking great.

When Pumba initially arrived, we were so concerned about his physical condition that we failed to notice that the wee man is not housetrained. Fortunately, he is very food motivated so we are now working very diligently on convincing him to do his business outdoors, despite the cold and the snow. In true pug fashion, Pumba is not a fan of winter, but I suspect his love of food with prevail and he'll catch on quickly.

Now that Pumba is feeling better, his true personality is also starting to show. While he was initially quite quiet, he is now a force to be reckoned with in the house. Pumba loves to play with my Pugalug alum, Hermione and Kitty, as well as my human kids. He also loves to play with stuffies, but only in short spurts. His favourite thing to do is to steal stuffies from Hermione (her vision isn't great so it's not that difficult). Pumba also loves to watch television and provide a running commentary on tv programs -- so far black dogs seem to bother him (to which Kitty and Hermione should probably be paying attention) and for some reason insurance commercials offend him as well.

Once we are confident that Pumba's allergies are stable and well-managed, he will be ready for adoption. He will be a wonderful fit for a lively home, who enjoys a dog with some hilarious spunk. He also wouldn't mind if he has some friends to play with too - human or canine!

Introduction, December 10, 2017

Welcome Pumba! He's a 6 year old fawn male who was surrendered to Pugalug about 3 weeks ago. He is the sweetest little pug in the world and incredibly easy-going. To expedite his intake into foster care, Pumba stayed at a temporary foster home for a couple of weeks while his permanent foster family was away on vacation. He settled in quite quickly to that initial foster home and has had no problem joining his permanent foster family now that they've returned. His favourite spots are either on the couch or in a bed - either his foster mom's or foster sister's will do! Pumba is perfect on leash and loves going for walks!

Healthwise, Pumba came into Pugalug with some pretty serious allergies, although the cause is still unknown. Upon entering foster care, he was gradually switched over to Rayne Kangaroo diet and has done well with that in a digestive sense. Recently, Pumba had his first vet visit and loved it! He figured everyone was there to love on him and wasn't bothered in the slightest by any poking or prodding. The vet recommended that we start off by trying two weeks of Clavamox and Venectyl P with regular baths using a new medicated shampoo. If there are no significant changes at the two week recheck appointment, then Pumba will be referred to a dermatologist for more specialized treatments. Blood work will be completed at the follow-up appointment as well.

Hopefully it won't take too long for Pumba to find some relief from his awful allergies. Thankfully, he takes it all in stride. He is an absolute love of a dog and a perfect little joy to have around!